BYD’s luxury sub-brand Yangwang has stormed into the record books, with its U9 Xtreme hypercar setting a new benchmark as the world’s fastest production car. The all-electric machine achieved an astonishing 496.22 km/h at Germany’s Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) oval, eclipsing the previous record of 490.5km/h set by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+.

German racing driver Marc Basseng was behind the wheel during the record attempt. “This record was only possible because the U9 Xtreme has such incredible performance,” he said. “Technically, something like this is not possible with a combustion engine. Thanks to the electric motor, the car is quiet, there are no load changes, and that allows me to focus even more on the track.”

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The U9 Xtreme is a highly upgraded version of the Yangwang U9 hypercar already sold in China. Basseng himself previously reached 375km/h in the standard U9 last year, while a Track Edition managed 470km/h earlier in 2025 to claim the title of fastest electric car. That model has now evolved into the Xtreme (U9X), which not only holds the EV record but the outright top-speed crown.

Key to its performance is a 1,200-volt electrical system, the first of its kind in a production vehicle, paired with BYD’s lithium iron phosphate ‘blade’ battery. Four electric motors, each capable of spinning at 30,000rpm, produce an eye-watering 2,176kW (2,959hp). The car also features a revised DiSus-X suspension system and specially developed semi-slick tyres to cope with the demands of speeds beyond 482km/h. Despite a kerb weight of 2480kg, the U9 Xtreme proved stable enough to rewrite the record books.

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Yangwang says it will build no more than 30 examples of the U9 Xtreme, aimed at a very select group of customers. Its achievement marks the first time an EV has taken the title of world’s fastest production car, signalling a shift in the hypercar hierarchy as electric technology challenges petrol power for supremacy.

Attention now turns to the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, which is claimed to be capable of 498.9km/h. For now, though, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme sits firmly at the top of the speed charts.